Where in the World is Miami: Amman, Jordan

Miami University students traveling to Amman, Jordan.
Photo: Meg Drown

Sep 13, 2017

Where in the world is Miami Wednesday?

By Megan Schulte, Miami University student study abroad ambassador

Today, in the first-ever Where in the World is Miami Wednesday, we will be traveling to Amman, Jordan to feature the adventures of Junior, Meg Drown.

Drown is currently spending the semester in Amman, Jordan through a third-party program called the School for International Training (SIT). This program is co-sponsored by Miami, and offers the themes of Geopolitics, International Relations, and the Future of the Middle East. Drown is currently studying the courses of Intensive Advanced Arabic, Research Methods and Ethics, and participating in a thematic seminar.

Drown says that the mission of the program is, “to give us field-based experience, so for the first two months we take classes and field visits. These visits include sites that are local, sites across the country of Jordan, and four out of the seven emirates in the UAE including Dubai and Abu Dhabi. During those excursions we will interact with local officials and people, experience their culture and politics, and do comparative studies.”

Participation in this program also involves the opportunity to choose between conducting an independent research project that pertains to Jordan and completing an internship, working for a local organization. Drown intends on conducting research on the economic development of refugee populations across Jordan and how the shadow economy of refugee populations furthers or slows the development of the country overall.

When she is not studying or conducting advanced research, Drown has the opportunity to explore the local sites. Her favorite place that she has visited so far is the Roman Citadel in Amman. This structure was built in the Neolithic period during the reign of the Romans in the Middle East. It has since been occupied by several civilizations across time. She describes it as, “a beautiful place that sits on a hill overlooking the city of Amman, and has ancient and fascinating ruins inside including a Byzantine Church, the Temple of Hercules, and the Umayyad Palace. It’s considered one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited places.”

That’s all for the week’s feature on Meg Drown in Jordan. Please continue to follow us on our journey around the world as each Wednesday we will feature a new adventure of a Redhawk abroad or away.

Would you or someone you know want to be featured in a future Where in the World is Miami Wednesday?